Frankfurt/Kassel (dpa/lhe) – Fires have damaged an area of ??around 130 hectares in the Hessian forests this year. The Hessen Forest state authority counted around 260 fires by the beginning of September. “In any case, there were more forest fires than usual,” said a spokeswoman for the authority in Kassel. This is also shown by figures from the Ministry of the Environment in Wiesbaden: According to this, there were 29 fires in the forests in 2021 and an affected area of ??2.6 hectares.
According to Hessen Forst, the drought this year was one of the reasons why a fire could break out in the first place even in the event of negligent arson – caused, for example, by a discarded cigarette. “A dry forest does not ignite by itself,” said the spokeswoman. In many cases, however, the exact cause cannot be determined due to the lack of witnesses or evidence.
According to the forest authority, most of the forest fire areas are very small. “We assume that these areas will naturally rejuvenate and no planting is necessary.” The larger areas are “also actively reforested depending on the naturally occurring regeneration”.
The fires can even have advantages for the forest: on smaller burnt areas, the changed structures and light conditions create new niches for plants and animals that did not exist there before, according to Hessen Forst. “This can have a positive effect on biodiversity for a larger forest area overall, because for a few years there will be even more animal and plant species. Over time, however, when the areas have grown over again, the niche specialists will also disappear again.”
The larger forest fires this year included fires near Dillenburg and Haiger in central Hesse. As a result, an area totaling around 40 hectares was destroyed or damaged in August. Up to 1000 emergency services fought against the flames.
